"Man, getting there is taking so much longer then I thought," Ash muttered to himself, ducking to avoid hitting his head on a low cave wall.
Bulbasaur, who had decided to stay out of its Pokéball to keep Ash company, rolled its eyes. Though the male had matured significantly since the last time the Pokémon saw him, Bulbasaur noted that Ash had many of the same tendencies as he did in childhood, though they were presented with a little more dignity.
"I can see the Valley up ahead," Ash declared, "Hey, Bulbasaur, you wanna race to the Valley?"
The grass Pokémon gave its trainer a look that asked 'are you kidding me?'. Ash shrugged, mumbling something that Bulbasaur could not understand before picking up his pace. The entrance was only feet away when a Charizard swooped down, landing right in front of the entrance. The trainer on the Charizard's back gave a whoop and jumped off, making Ash raise an eyebrow.
"Um, excuse me, but your Charizard is blocking the entrance," Ash said to the trainer, trying to figure out whether to call the person 'mister' or 'miss'.
The trainer brushed his fiery red hair aside and chuckled, "Sorry about that. I'm the guardian of the Valley. 'Name's Seth. And you are?"
Ash's eyebrows furrowed as he looked at the boy before him. He could not have been older than fourteen and hardly seemed strong enough to guard a valley full of super powerful Pokémon.
"How do I know you're not bluffing?" Ash asked, taken over by skepticism.
"Why would I have reason to?" the boy countered, conveying his defensiveness through the poison coating on his words.
"Listen, I don't have time for games," Ash sighed exasperatedly, "I need to pick up a Charizard and go."
"I'm sorry, but you can't do that."
Ash quirked an eyebrow. There were TWO people guarding this valley? A female with forest green hair strode up behind the red headed boy and smacked him upside the head. She mumbled something under her breath before turning to Ash.
"Who are you?" Ash asked, looking at the girl.
"Angelique. Senior Valley Guardian. Sadly related to this doofus here," the girl replied.
"Senior?" Ash asked, his forehead crinkling, "How old are you; twelve?"
"Seventeen, prick," the girl snapped, gesturing to herself before gesturing to the boy, "This one here is fifteen but acts like he's ten."
Ash just shook his head, ignoring the fact that he was insulted by a mouthy teenager. He was still trying to get over the fact that kids were confronting him.
"No one else seems to be here," Ash noted, looking at the teens warily, "Why is that?"
"Trainers came a while ago to get their Charizards. Any left unattended are now considered wild," the boy said matter-of-factly.
"... You really think I'm stupid, don't you?" Ash asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
The boy's smug admission made him realize that the teens were lying. He watched the girl, whose expression soured as soon as she realized what Ash had meant. The girl grabbed Pokéballs from her waist and tossed them in the air. She brushed her green bangs from her eyes and smirked at Ash.
"I hope you have Pokémon, good sir. Because you have to battle to get your Charizard back," she threatened, taking a fighting stance.
"As a matter of fact, I do," Ash replied, beckoning to Bulbasaur and tossing the other Pokéballs from his pocket on the air, "And I'd be more than happy to crush you."
"Well, sorry to disappoint you, but you'll have to beat both of us," the boy added, calling out three Pokémon in addition to the girl's six.
"I suppose that's fair," Ash replied, "After all, this is illegal."
"It's never stopped you before," the girl countered, looking over Ash's Pokémon, "Quite an impressive team, despite the size, I must say. Bulbasaur, Infernape and Swellow."
Ash paused a moment to examine the teams before him. The girl's team consisted of Charizard, Pidgeot, Raichu, Gyarados, Nidoqueen, and Raticate. The two Pokémon the boy had were a Wartortle and a Dratini. Ash bit his lip; he was severely outnumbered. However, it seemed that the boy had weaker Pokémon, so all he had to worry about was the girl.
"I can't wait to see your face when we beat you. Speaking of, we never discussed a condition," the girl interjected, smirking wider.
"What's your condition?" Ash demanded, anxious to start the battle.
"If you win, you can go and get your Charizard," the boy said.
"If not," the girl added, "We get to keep it and take your Pokémon. Are you sure you're willing to take that risk?"
"I absolutely am," Ash replied, staring the teens down.
With those words, the battle commenced. Ash went first, since he was at a disadvantage. Bulbasaur easily dispatched Wartortle while Swellow had weakened Raticate significantly. Sadly, Infernape did minimal damage to Dratini, much to Ash's frustration.
When the siblings' turn rolled around, what seemed like all of hell broke loose. Charizard's flamethrower attack left Bulbasaur with severe burns on its flank. Infernape was hit with a powerful Hydro Pump from Gyarados and then sent spinning from Pidgeot's brave bird attack. Swellow managed to avoid Raticate's blizzard attack, only to be shocked by Raichu's thunderbolt. Then, to shake things up, Nidoqueen dealt out a powerful Earthquake attack that became the last straw for Infernape, who teetered on the edge of exhaustion.
"It's okay, Infernape. You can do it!" Ash called to his Pokémon, trying to reassure it.
"Hn. Pathetic," the girl snorted as she rolled her eyes, "Hurry this up. We don't have all day."
"Fine," Ash growled, commanding his Pokémon to attack.
Bulbasaur and Swellow went after Dratini, finally pushing it to exhaustion. However, the Pokémon struggled up, determined to fight to the death. Bulbasaur then went after Gyarados, who swept the grass Pokémon aside with its tail and sent Bulbasaur flying into Charizard's iron grip. Swellow circled around and pecked at Nidoqueen's head while the blue creature swiped at the navy bird furiously. Infernape sent Raticate flying into a nearby rock, breaking both the rock and possibly the smaller Pokémon's skull simultaneously. After getting nowhere with Nidoqueen, Swellow attacked Pidgeot with a hard headbutt, though the other bird Pokémon countered with a furious slash attack.
Gyarados hit Infernape with a hydro pump attack as Pidgeot swooped down with a brave bird attack. Charizard threw Bulbasaur in the air to use a seismic toss attack and followed it up with an iron tail that sent Bulbasaur into the ground with a loud 'crack' following the impact. The small green Pokémon managed to struggle out of the ditch it had made in the ground. Nidoqueen sent Swellow spiraling with a punch that crackled with electricity while Raichu tackled Swellow while wrapped in electricity.
Ash felt the sweat start to roll down his forehead. Infernape was close to being totally down and out while Bulbasaur had sustained major injuries to his torso. Thankfully, Swellow was able to hover above the ground despite having electricity sparking off of its wings. Ash contemplated giving up; even with the boy's Pokémon and Raticate dispatched, he was still severely outnumbered and, without Pikachu, he was not powerful enough to beat the female.
"Are you done yet?" the boy taunted, receiving a swift smack from his sister to shut him up.
"Not yet," Ash countered, narrowing his eyes.
"Hn," the girl snorted, "Then prepare to suffer. Nidoqueen, earthquake!"
The ground shook and cracked in weaker spots. The ditch Bulbasaur had once occupied had literally been ripped in half and the grass Pokémon moved farther away from it, only to be hit by Pidgeot's wing attack that sent him sailing through the air. In transit, Bulbasaur managed to deliver a razor leaf- constrict combination at Gyarados. Swellow swooped down on Raichu, sending it crashing into Nidoqueen, who blindly body slammed its teammate into the ground.
"Knock it off you two," the girl snapped as she glared at her Pokémon.
Nidoqueen charged at Infernape with a horn attack while Raichu hopped onto Pidegot and jumped onto Swellow's back, giving it a full dose of its powerful thunder attack. Bulbasaur let go of Gyarados and grabbed Raichu off of Swellow's back and threw the electric Pokémon into the ground. Raichu dug under the ground and came up right under Infernape, delivering an electric punch into the fire Pokémon's stomach. Infernape, exhausted from the beating it had taken, doubled over in pain and fell on its face while it clutched its stomach.
"Looks like we have a man down," the girl sneered, "Or should I say ape?"
Infernape managed to army crawl its way back to Ash's side, holding back its cries of pain. Ash set his jaw and looked at Bulbasaur and Swellow, who nodded determinedly. The girl smirked, commanding all of her Pokémon to attack the two defending Ash.
Charizard, Pidgeot and Gyarados attacked Bulbasaur in a methodical fashion. Gyarados delivered a hyper beam attack first. Pidgeot swooped down from behind and delivered a powerful fly attack, followed by wing attack. Charizard flew in from the left and let out a flare blitz attack at Bulbasaur, recoiling slightly due to damage it sustained to itself from the move. Bulbasaur was shaking in its defensive stance as Charizard flew high, letting out a Flamethrower in midair and then spinning to cover itself in flames. After doing that, it angled itself in Bulbasaur's direction and spiraled downward, still encased in flames and gaining more as it gained speed. It swooped down, picking Bulbasaur up in the orb of flames and then dropping it from midair. Gyarados caught the falling grass Pokémon on it's tail and used a powerful iron tail to launch it like a volleyball to Raichu, who took a break from pummeling Swellow and used an iron tail of it's own to plow Bulbasaur into the ground.
Meanwhile, Nidoqueen and Raichu double-teamed Swellow. Nidoqueen launched Raichu into the air and the little orange Pokémon spiraled its body and generated electricity for a volt tackle attack in midair. It body slammed Swellow, sending electricity through the bird Pokémon's body. Raichu then spun around to land on Swellow's back and shocked it with a thunderbolt. Nidoqueen jumped in the air as well, smacking Swellow with it's tail and sending the bird spiraling to the ground. As Swellow came closer to the ground, Nidoqueen jabbed Swellow in the chest with it's poisonous horn as Raichu jumped off to make a volleyball out of Bulbasaur.
"Were you ever a coordinator?" Ash asked the girl, noting Charizard and Raichu's exploitation of spiraling movements.
"Never," the girl snorted, "My techniques are none of your business. Finish them off!"
Charizard used it's tail to light it's hand on fire and charged at Bulbasaur with a fire punch attack. Raichu jumped onto Swellow and delivered a final thunderbolt. Pidgeot swooped down and delivered an air cutter attack to Bulbasaur while Gyarados launched a long-range hyper beam at Swellow. Nidoqueen put the metaphorical icing on the cake by shaking the earth and sending dust from the battlefield flying. Ash coughed, struggling to see if his Pokémon were okay through the thick dust cloud.
"Swellow! Bulbasaur!" Ash yelled, fruitlessly waving his hand to clear the dust from the air.
"Give up, Ketchum; you lost!" the girl demanded as the dust cleared to reveal Swellow and Bulbasaur laying face down on the ground, burnt, bloody and sparking with electricity.
Ash pulled out his Pokéballs and called back Swellow and Infernape. His bangs shielded his eyes as he bent down to pick up Bulbasaur, who let out a soft grunt of defiance. The girl smirked, stepping back and Ash looked at her in confusion.
"What's that look for?" he demanded, exhaustion and defeat clear in his voice.
"You know, I was just going to take your Pokémon to humiliate you," the girl started, "But after that, I'm interested to see what you can do."
"I have no Pokémon left," Ash insisted, frowning.
She laughed, "Let's see if you're as tenacious as your Pokémon..."
"What do you mean?"
"Oh? We never added that condition, did we?"
"What condition?"
"The fight is to the death. Even for you... Pokémon, attack!"
Ash stood in his spot, watching the opponent's Pokémon approach him. He closed his eyes as he felt the heat of the fire and heard the charging of a beam and the crackle of electricity in the air. He swallowed, waiting for pain to consume him. A rush of wind made him open his eyes to see a familiar shadow looming over him.
"Charizard!" Ash called out in surprise as the Pokémon took all of the attacks for him.
"Ey?! How did you get out?" the boy demanded, glaring at Ash's Charizard.
The Pokémon stared, immobile and unblinking. After a few moments, Ash's Charizard blew a flamethrower attack in the air and flew up after it. The boy's eyes widened and he grabbed his sister's hand and whispered frantically in her ear. She swallowed as her smug expression turned panicked. She returned her Pokémon and started to run along with her brother. Ash noted that something shiny fell out of her pocket as she ran off. He picked it up as Charizard landed beside him with a 'thud'. Ash examined the silver object, tilting his head to read what was engraved on it.
The object was in the shape of the letter 'R' and the name that had been engraved was distorted, as if someone had poured acid or molten steel onto it in order to change the name. Ash stowed the item in his pocket, wondering where he remembered seeing the symbol before. He noted that the panicked behavior of the teens also had seemed familiar, but he just could not put his finger on it. He looked at Charizard and sighed.
"So, is there a Pokémon hospital around here?" Ash asked Charizard, "Or maybe a forgotten Pokémon Center?"
Charizard took Ash on it's back and flew him to a nearby town. Ash then walked to the forgotten Pokémon Center, where he was chided by Nurse Joy for letting his Pokémon get so injured and weak. Thankfully, she believed his story about infiltrating the battling rings to ensure the safety of a friend.
"Good luck," she called as Ash pushed open the once animated doors.
"Thank you, Nurse Joy. And you said the Squirtle Squad are the fire-fighters of the town, right?" Ash asked, not wanting to go on a wild goose chase.
"Right. They'll probably be around the police station," the nurse said with a smile.
"Thank you for all your help!" Ash called, closing the doors behind him.
Bulbasaur popped out of it's Pokéball to greet Charizard, who gave a smile down to its teammate. Charizard then picked up the fallen Pokéball and pressed the button on in, effectively returning itself. Ash picked up the Pokéball and returned it to his pocket, smiling at Bulbasaur.
"Just one more pal to add," Ash noted, picking up Bulbasaur to carry him, "Hope you don't mind, bud. You've done a lot already today and I don't want things to get worse for you."
The Pokémon gave a grunt but smiled regardless. Ash started walking very fast to get to town, wincing as he felt his sore muscles scream in protest. When he finally reached town, he saw that it had been desecrated. Graffiti was everywhere and there was a huge crowd in the middle of the square. Ash blinked and approached a man and tapped him on the shoulder.
"Excuse me, sir, but what's going on?" Ash asked, scratching his head.
"Civilian arrest," the man replied.
"Who are you arresting?" Ash puzzled, tilting his head.
"The culprits of the graffiti," the man replied exasperatedly.
"And they are...?"
"That damn Squirtle Squad."
"Oh that's ni- Wait, WHAT?"
"Younguns these days... I said the Squirtle squad," the elderly man replied, raising an eyebrow as he walked away.
"Are you kidding me?!" Ash exclaimed, looking at Bulbasaur, "Can things get any worse? Arceus, it's like someone's trying to sabotage me..."